Fibrous elements, especially produced from spinning processes such as meltblow and/or spunbond processes are known in the art. However, a vast majority of such spinning processes utilize non-aqueous polymer melt compositions, typically comprising thermoplastic and/or thermoset polymers that utilize the effects of cooling the non-aqueous polymer melt compositions to produce the fibrous elements during the spinning processes.
In cases where the fibrous elements are produced from aqueous polymer melt compositions, for example polymer melt compositions comprising hydroxyl polymers, such as polysaccharides, hot drying air is used to remove water from the aqueous polymer melt compositions during spinning in order to produce the fibrous elements, which may be collected to form a fibrous structure. Removal of water from the incipient fibrous elements aids in inhibiting the fibrous elements from sticking to one another during the spinning and/or collecting processes. Failure to effectively remove water from the fibrous elements during formation results in relatively poor tensile properties, such as relatively lower fail stretch (FS), relatively lower total dry tensile (TDT), and/or relatively lower total energy absorbed (TEA), in the fibrous structures produced from the ineffectively dried fibrous elements. It is believed that these poor tensile properties in the fibrous structure are caused, at least in part, by excessive bonding of fibrous elements to one another that occurs when the fibrous elements are not effectively dried. However, the use of larger amounts of drying air is economically infeasible and energy intensive. In addition, ineffectively dried fibrous elements exhibit relatively larger average diameters, which impact various properties of the fibrous structures produced therefrom.
As shown above, a problem encountered by formulators is how to remove water more effectively from fibrous elements formed from aqueous polymer melt compositions without using increased levels of drying air to form the fibrous elements.
Therefore, there is a need for fibrous elements produced from aqueous polymer melt compositions and fibrous structures made therefrom that avoid the negatives discussed above.